Islam Beyond the Middle East: South Asia, Africa, Indonesia, and Western Europe

With Support from the African Studies Center and
The United States Department of Education Title VI Program

July 27-28, 2007

Even though we know Islam is a world-wide religious force, it is all too easy to focus on Islam as the religious and social force in the Middle East. In this seminar we invite you to explore Islam outside the context of the Middle East.

South Asia, the subcontinent containing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, is home to one-third of the world’s 1 billion-plus Muslims. While Islam has been in the spotlight in terms of conflict in recent years, it is also deeply interwoven into multiple regional cultures through spirituality (Sufism) and aesthetics. We’ll highlight the striking role of South Asia in the Muslim cosmos, and its importance for the understanding of global issues of Islam today.

Islam reached Africa early, becoming a potent movement for education and equality in indigenous societies. Today Islam is the fastest growing religion on the African sub-continent. Modern Islam grapples with colonialism, reacting with religious and nationalistic fervor to the continuing imposition of neo-colonial influence with implications for both internal African politics and relations with the United States.

Indonesia, the fourth largest nation in the world, is the largest Muslim nation, yet its Islam is grounded in a history of Hinduism and Buddhism as well as indigenous religion. We will analyze the history and culture over the past two thousand years up to the present, drawing on personal experience as well.

We’ll also look at the rise of Islam in Western Europe, where even in Great Britain, the fastest-growing religion is Islam. We’ll explore the tensions created between long-time residents and recent immigrants over religious and cultural practices, paying particular attention to Muslim women in France.

Topics and Speakers

Islam in South Asia, from Adam’s Peak to Bamiyan
Carl Ernst, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations

Islam in Africa
Lisa Lindsay, Associate Professor of History

Indonesian Islam
James L. Peacock, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Anthropology
Lorraine Aragon, Adjunct Associate Professor of Asian Studies

Islam in Western Europe
Sahar Amer, Associate Professor of Asian Studies

Global Issues in Islam
Professors Ernst, Lindsay, Peacock, Aragon, and Amer

Time and Cost

4:30 p.m., Friday, July 27, through 1:00 p.m., Saturday, July 28, 2007. The tuition is $120 ($105 before June 6). The optional dinner on Friday evening is $20. Scholarship tuition for teachers is $60 ($52.50 before June 6). 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit.

For information about lodging click here.

Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association.
For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.

Register for this seminar.